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Gingo Animation
Universal Studios |divisions = Glass Ball Productions Gingo Television Gingo Interactive Gingo Consumer Products Gingo International Studios Gingo Theatrical Productions LLC Gingo Press Gingo Media Gingo Online }} Gingo Animation, LLC. (also known as Gingo Entertainment or simply as Gingo and stylized as GiNGO) is an American animation studio based in North Hollywood, California. The studio is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, itself a division of Comcast. Founded by Geo G. in 1988, Gingo produces animated feature films, short films and television programs. Gabriel Garza, the titular character from the eponymous series of the same name, is the studio's mascot. The studio has produced its most well-known franchises such as Gabriel Garza, Hatty, Computeropolis, Quest, Planetokio, and Imagimals. Its highest-grossing films are Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 (2014), which has grossed $1.198 billion worldwide; The Planetokio Movie (2015), which has grossed $717.3 million worldwide; and Computeropolis (2004), which grossed $697.1 million worldwide. Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 is among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time, and fourteen of the films are among the 50 highest-grossing animated films, with Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 being the fourth all-time highest. During its early years, Gingo entered an agreement to co-produce and co-finance films with 20th Century Fox, who came to own a large minority stake of the studio. In 2007, Universal Studios acquired Gingo, who retained their original brand, logo, and most intellectual properties, at a valuation of $3.85 billion. In recent years, the animation studio has acquired and created new divisions in an effort to diversify beyond the high-risk film business. History Founding (1982–1993) Gingo Animation was founded by Geo G. in 1982 as Geo G. Productions, and originally, was a division of Hanna-Barbera, before it was renamed Gingo in 1988, and separated from the studio. In early 1988, Geo G. Productions was renamed as Gingo Animation. Gingo had produced a Saturday morning animated television series Gabriel Garza, which ran on CBS from 1991 to 1993 and then on Fox Kids from 1994 to 2002. Created by Geo G., the series followed the adventures of a young boy named Gabriel Garza, who lives and hangs out with his friends via the Wacky Pack — Roge, Leno, Cole, Loy, and the Elves — in the town of Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania. Gabriel has been Gingo's mascot since the character's introduction in 1991. Gingo Interactive was a computer and video game developer and publisher founded in 1991 as a Gingo subsidiary that was best known for developing the Gabriel Garza video game series. In 2007, the company, however, went defunct for financial reasons. In 1993, Gingo created a division called Glass Ball Productions, which it typically produces animated films and television shows targeted to young adult audiences than those released under the Gingo name. Partnership with 20th Century Fox (1994–2008) In May 1994, Gingo Animation and 20th Century Fox announced that their companies were teaming up to co-finance and distribute The Gabriel Garza Movie, Gingo's first feature film which is based on their television series Gabriel Garza, which had already been in pre-production for a year. On March 21, 1997, Gingo and Fox signed a $250 million deal to make additional 15 films that were estimated to be completed during the next 20 years. With the deal was also announced the first project, titled The Tub People. Intended to be based on the children's picture book of the same name by Pam Conrad, it was put on hold two years later because of script issues. In 1995, when Pixar released the first-ever CGI feature Toy Story, Gingo began plans for a computer-animated feature competing against Pixar. The studio's ideas for its first CGI project included The Boy and the Ape, a concept that was designed in 1994 but the film did not get beyond its planning stage. The canceled project was revealed 19 years after the film's conception. The second CGI project was Galaxy Melody, which took inspirations from Star Wars and Disney's Fantasia. It was intended as a sci-fi comedy musical film, and to prove Gingo's ability to create CGI films other than hand-drawn films. Gingo spent six months on the project, developing several concept art and animation tests. However, most staff members, beside Geo G., were not passionate about the project, and thought it was "one-dimensional". Fox also thought the film would not find a market, and recommended Gingo to "play to their strengths". As a result, Galaxy Melody was scrapped. According to Geo, Galaxy Melody is a lesson for Gingo and its first failure. On September 12, 1997, Gingo's first feature film The Gabriel Garza Movie was released to a great critical and financial success. Following this success, Gingo immediately planned for a sequel. Gingo released its second feature film Paint World, which was released into theaters on September 3, 1999. Next year followed Another Gabriel Movie, the sequel to 1997's The Gabriel Garza Movie. On September 13, 2002, Gingo released its first computer-animated film Lost in a City. It was followed by a third Gabriel Garza film Gabriel's Bogus Journey, which was released on September 26, 2003. On September 17, 2004, Gingo released its sixth feature film and its second computer-animated feature Computeropolis, which was met with favorable reviews and grossed $687 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film for Gingo (until it was surpassed by Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 in 2014) and the third highest-grossing film of 2004. Because of Computeropolis's success, Gingo was requested to green-lit a sequel, thus making Computeropolis Gingo's first CGI franchise. Due to the success of CGI animated films, Gingo decided to exit hand-drawn animation business. Beginning with Computeropolis, all released films were expected to be produced with CGI. Gingo released its seventh film How Frogs Go to London on July 15, 2005 and generally positive reviews but was financially unsuccessful upon its July 2005 release, resulting in a $93 million write-down for Gingo. Because of the film's box office failure, Gingo abandoned plans for a sequel, entitled How Frogs Go to Paris. The following year, Gingo's eighth film and an adaptation of BJ and Wally debuted on July 7, 2006 earning $140 million on its opening weekend, and eventually found its way to $328 million stateside and $486 million worldwide. The studio's first CGI sequel and ninth feature, Computeropolis 2, opened in the United States on September 21, 2007, earning worldwide over $469 million. Gingo's second CGI sequel was BJ and Wally: FusionMania, released in theaters on May 16, 2008. The film opened to a much bigger than expected $43 million opening, and ended up with $175 million domestically and $246 million worldwide. In 2008, Gingo celebrated 20 years of being an animation studio. Universal Studios era (2007–present) On June 1, 2007, three months before the release of Computeropolis 2, Variety reported that due to creative differences 20th Century Fox and Gingo Animation would not renew their distribution deal, set to expire with the release of BJ and Wally: FusionMania in 2008, as the final Gingo film distributed by Fox under their original distribution agreement. During that time, Gingo was in early negotiations with Universal Pictures to distribute its upcoming films, such as Woo La La and Computeropolis 3. A spokesperson for Universal told MSN, "We would love to be in business with Gingo. They are a great company." On August 30, 2007, Universal officially announced a deal to acquire Gingo Animation for $3.85 billion, with Gingo shareholders to receive $30 and approximately 0.693 Universal shares for each share of Gingo they own. By January 31, 2008, the deal was announced to be completed, because of which Gingo became a wholly owned subsidiary of Universal. Also, the Gingo name was guaranteed to continue, and the studio would remain in its current North Hollywood. Gingo's digital, marketing, consumer products, and gaming divisions were all absorbed into Universal's parent company NBCUniversal. Woo La La, the first film from Gingo to be distributed by Universal after its acquisition of the studio, was released on March 13, 2009, earning $532 million worldwide, which was Universal's highest-grossing 2009 film. Two months after Universal completed its acquisition of Gingo, Universal announced a deal with another animation production company Illumination Entertainment, formed by Chris Meledandri in 2007, by positioning Illumination as NBCUniversal's family entertainment arm via Universal Pictures' feature animation group. This meant that Universal would be able to release as many as five animated films in a year, divided between Gingo and Illumination. Gingo Animation and Illumination Entertainment remain separate companies. Additionally, Geo G. served as an uncredited executive producer for some of Illumination's animated features, notably Despicable Me, The Lorax, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, and Sing. Michael Wildshill later explained that after the merger, to maintain the studios' separate identities and cultures (notwithstanding the fact of common ownership and common senior management), he and Geo G. "drew a hard line" that each studio was solely responsible for its own projects and would not be allowed to borrow personnel from or lend tasks out to the other. That rule ensures that each studio maintains "local ownership" of projects and can be proud of its own work. Thus, for example, when Gingo had issues with Gabriel and the Wacky Pack (2011) and Illumination had issues with The Lorax (2012), "nobody bailed them out" and each studio was required "to solve the problem on its own" even when they knew there were personnel at the other studio who theoretically could have helped. In September 2012, Gingo named a former president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, Peter Schneider, president of Gingo Animation. In January 2013, Schneider resigned for personal reasons. In 2013, Gingo celebrated its 25th anniversary. The studio's sixteenth film, Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2, opened in the United States on May 16, 2014, earning worldwide over $1 billion, becoming the highest-grossing 2014 animated film and breaking a record as the most profitable Gingo film in its 25-year history. Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 also became the first film from Gingo to earn over $1 billion in worldwide box office revenue and is currently the fourth highest-grossing animated film of all time, behind Toy Story 3 (2010), Minions (2015), and Frozen (2013). In 2015, the releases of Hatty and The Planetokio Movie marked the first time Gingo released two films in one calendar year. On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal announced its intent to acquire competing studio DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion, thus making DreamWorks Animation the third animation studio owned by Universal following Gingo Animation and Illumination Entertainment. On August 22, 2016, the acquisition was completed. In January 2017, Gingo acquired TMS Entertainment; South Korean ink and paint studio Koko Enterprises, Japanese feature film company Telecom Animation Film, TMS Music UK, TMS Music Co Ltd, TMS Music HK (Hong Kong), record company Arutemate, Japanese video production and planning company Tocsis, animation lab TMS Photo, Indonesian production company PT TOMS MEDIA SERVICE ASIA (TMS Asia), CGI animation company Jinni's Inc and DVD distribution company Liverpool. Shortly afterwards, Japanese companies Telecom, Arutemate, Tocsis, TMS Music Co Ltd, TMS Photo, Jinni's and Liverpool merged into Gingo Entertainment Japan, while Koko Enterprises became its South Korean office. However, in January 19th, 2017, TMS Asia (Indonesia) and TMS Music (HK) merged with Koko Enterprises to form Gingo South Korea. Next day, Gingo Entertainment Japan acquired the Kanagawa (Japan) and Seoul (South Korea) offices of Marza Animation Planet. Since then, Gingo announced a partnership with TMS Entertainment and Marza Animation Planet. In 2018, Gingo will celebrate its 30th anniversary. In 2019, Gingo will become one of the first animation studios (the other being Sony Pictures Animation) to release four films in one year. In 2020, the releases of Imagimals 2, an untitled project, and The Sentinel will also mark the first time Gingo will release three films in one year. Company name The company name is named after Gingo biloba (later Ginkgo biloba), a poem written by the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The poem was published in his work West-östlicher Diwan (West-Eastern Divan), first published in 1819. Goethe used "Gingo" instead of "Ginkgo" in the first version to avoid the hard sound of the letter "k". The company is also named after Ginkgo biloba, the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta, all others being extinct. It is found in fossils dating back 270 million years. Native to China, the tree is widely cultivated and was introduced early to human history. It has various uses in traditional medicine and as a source of food. The genus name Ginkgo is regarded as a misspelling of the Japanese gin kyo, "silver apricot". Filmography Films :For Glass Ball Productions films, see Glass Ball Productions. Upcoming films Films in development Direct-to-video films Coming soon! TV specials Coming soon! Short films Television series More coming soon! Highest-grossing films See also *Illumination Entertainment *DreamWorks Animation *Universal Animation Studios *Gingo Interactive *Gingo Animation/upcoming release slate timeline *Gingo Animation production logo Category:Companies Category:Gingo Animation Category:Universal Studios Category:NBCUniversal Category:Comcast